Kant and the Exact Sciences

Description

Immanuel Kant sought throughout his life to provide a philosophy adequate to the sciences of his time - especially Euclidean geometry and Newtonian physics. In this book, Michael Friedman argues that Kant's continuing efforts to find a metaphysics that could provide a foundation for the sciences is of the utmost importance for understanding the development of his philosophical thought, from its earliest beginnings in the thesis of 1747, through the "Critique of Pure Reason" (1781), to his last unpublished writings on the "Opus postumum". Michael Friedman has also written "Foundations of Space-Time Theories", which won the Matchette Prize of the American Philosophical Association.

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About Author

Michael Friedman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the author of Foundations of Space-Time Theories, which won the Machette Prize of the American Philosophical Association and was also named among the best books of the year by the New York Times.

Contents

Preface Introduction: Metaphysics and Exact Science in the Evolution of Kant's Thought PART ONE: THE CRITICAL PERIOD 1. Geometry 2. Concepts and Intuitions in the Mathematical Sciences 3. Metaphysical Foundations of Newtonian Science 4. Space, the Understanding, and the Law of Gravitation: Prolegomena 38 PART TWO: THE OPUS POSTUMUM 5. Transition from the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science to Physics I The Transition Project and the Metaphysical Foundations II The Transition Project and Reflective Judgement III The Chemical Revolution IV The Aether-Deduction V The Fate of the Aether-Deduction References and Translations for Kant's Writings General Bibliography Index